'Die by suicide if you dare': Delhi bakery owner's family accuses estranged wife, in-laws of abetment to suicide

Sister of Puneet Khurana, the 40-year old bakery owner who hanged himself at his Delhi home, on Wednesday alleged that the victim's estranged wife and her family dared him to die by suicide. She added that her brother shot a 59-minute long video on his phone, detailing the harassment he faced from his wife. 

As per Khurana's family, he was upset with his estranged wife and business partner Manika Pahwa, whom he married in 2016. The couple co-owned the For God's Cake bakery and an eatery called Woodbox Cafe, which closed a while ago. 

"Manika Pahwa, her parents and her sister forced my brother, stressed him out and instigated him by saying, 'you can't do anything, die by suicide if you dare'. There is a video recording shot by him for around 59 minutes on his phone," Khurana's sister told news agency ANI.

She further claimed that the family presented and played the recording to the police, and they did not give us a copy of it when we asked for it. Khurana's sister said that the police have seized the video recording. 

Furthermore, the victim's sister said that Manika's family threatened to throw their parents out of the house. "Manika's family threatened to throw our parents out of the house and dared Puneet to open his shop again. They kept on abusing and pressured him mentally." 

When asked about the bakery business dispute between the estranged couple. she said when the first notion of divorce was signed, it was decided that Puneet would manage For God's Cake bakery and his estranged wife Manika would manage Woodbox Cafe. 

The victim's sister mentioned that they used to run the bakery in partnership previously but amid the divorce proceedings, Manika kept calling Puneet and demanded her share.

"When the matter was already decided by court, you should have gone and raised the matter there instead of harassing my brother. She also hacked Puneet's Instagram account too," she alleged.

She also mentioned that the victim's estranged wife allegedly misbehaved with people through Puneet's Instagram account, due to which he called her at 3 am and they argued over the bakery business. 

Besides this, Khurana's mother said her son never shared anything with the family thinking they would be stressed and upset. "She tortured him so much that he was compelled to take the extreme step yesterday. I have lost my son and I want justice for him."

Moreover, DCP North West Delhi Bhisham Singh said that the victim hanged himself with a cloth and his family took him down and kept his body on the bed. 

"A post-mortem will be conducted and the report will come by tomorrow. If any complications arise, we will form a board and get the post-mortem done. We will take necessary action after that," the police official said.